Planter.



No. 733,033. PATENT-ED JULY 7, 1903. T. M. GRIFFIN.

PLANTER.

APPLIGATION FILED AUG. 'II 1902.

N0 MODEL. 2 SHEETS-SHEET L m: mama PETERS co, vum'aumou WASHINGTON. D c.

No. 733,033. PATENTED JULY 7, 1903;.

T. M. GRIFFIN.

PLANTER.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 1, 1902. no MODEL. 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

No; ve aos.

Patented July v, 1903.

FFICE.

PAT NT THOMAS M. GRIFFIN, on LENDERM N, SOUTH CAROLINA.

PLAN-res.

3PEGIFIGATION i'omiiii l art of LetterspI atent as. 733,033, dated duly7, 1903:. p

. Application file d August 7, 1902. Serial No. 118,810. (No model.)

To ail whom it may con'cerft:

Be it known that I, THOMAS M. GRIFFIN, a citizen of the United States,residing at Lenderman, in the county of Greenville and State of SouthCarolina, have invented a new and useful Planter, of which the followingis a specification.

This invention relates to planters, and has forits object to provide animproved device of this character which is especially adapted forplanting cotton-seed and is also provided with means for distributingfertilizer in connection with the planting operation. Furthermore, it isdesigned to provide improved seed-droppin g means which is arranged todeposit the seed at regular intervals without scattering the seedbroadcast and also to arrange for dropping more or less seed, accordingto the desire of the operator.

' With these and other objects in view the present invention consists inthe combination and arrangement of parts, as will be hereinafter morefully described, shown in the accompanying drawings, and particularlypointed out in the appended claims, it being understood that changes inthe form, proportion, size, and minor details may be made within thescope of the claims without departing from the spirit or sacrificing anyof the advantages of the invention.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a planter constructedandarranged in accordance with the present invention. 2 is an invertedplan view thereof. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view. Fig. 4 is across'sectional view of the seed-hopper. Fig.

5 is a detail perspective view of one of the adjustable cut-off slidesfor the seed-hopper.

Like charactersof reference designate corresponding parts in all of thefigures of .the drawings. I

The frame of the present device is composed of a pair of longitudinalbeams 1, which are connected at an intermediate point by means ofatransverse metallic rod or bar 2, the forward ends of the beams beingembraced by and secured to the rear ends of a draft-yoke 3, which hasthe forward ends, of its opposite sides extended upwardly, as at 4, andseparated by an intervening space, the upper ends of the upstandingportions 4 being formed into a hook 5 for connection with a draftdevice. A pair of brackets or hangers 6 depend Fig.

from the forward ends of the frame-beams and supporta shaft 7, which hasan intermediate wheel 8 for the support of the device. The handles 9incline upwardly and rear wardly from the front ends .of the beams 1 andare connectednear their rear ends by means of a cross-bar l0,'therebeing suitable standards 11 rising from the rear ends of the beams andconnected to the handles. An intermediate cross-bar 12 also connectsthehandles.

At the front of the device there is a suitable opener 13, which iscarried by the lower end of a standard 14, the upper end of the latterbeing disposed between'the upstanding portions 4 of the yoke 3 andsecured thereto by means of a bolt or other suitable fastening 15. Theclevis ordraft-hook 5, which is located at the top of the, upwardly-extetiding portions of the draft-yoke, is located at thefrontedges thereof, and the shank or standard 14 of the soil-engagingdevice or opener 13 is secured to the upwardly-extending portions at apoint below and'in rear of the draft-hook. By this construction one boltonly is necessary for attaching the shank or standard, as the upperportion of the latter will engage the clevis or draft-hook and beprevented from swinging forward beyond a perpendicular position. Asclearly indicated in Fig. 2, it will be seen that the wheel Sis arrangedin rear of the opener 13, so as to run in the furrow and pack the soiltherein.

Located between the intermediate cross-bar 12 and the front portion ofthe frame is afertilizer-hopper 16, which is disposed above the beams 1with its rear end portion lying against and secured to the cross-bar 12,its front end being supported by means of metallic upstanding brace-barsor standards 17, which rise from the beams and are connected to theopposite sides of the front portion of the hopper. As best illustratedin Fig. 3, it will be seen that the bottom of the hopper terminatesabove the beams l and is provided with a bevel discharge-opening 18,from which leads is carried by a transverse shaft 20, which has bearingsin the opposite sides of the hopper and is driven from the shaft of thesupporting-wheel, as will be hereinafter described.

In rear and slightly below the fertilizer-hopper'is a rolling polygonalseed hopper 22, which is provided at opposite ends withjournals 23, thatare mounted in suitable bearings 24, carried by the longitudinal beamsof the main frame. One of the journals 23 is provided with asprocket-wheel 25, and on the corresponding end of the shaft 21 of thefertilizer-hopper is a sprocket-wheel 26,while the supporting-shaft 7is-provided with a sprocket-wheel 27 all of these sprocket-wheels beingin the same vertical plane, so as to engage an endless sprocket-chain28, whereby the seed-distributing hopper and the agitator of thefertilizer-hopper are simultaneously driven from the shaftof thesupporting-wheel. The rolling seed-hopper has opposite heads 29, each ofwhich is polygonal in shape, and while it may have as many sides asdesired I have shown the head or end in the form of a squareor'quadrilateral. The intermediate periphery of the hopper ofcoursecorresponds jonal seed-hopper comprising heads arranged atopposite sides of the hopper, and continuous plates extending entirelyacross the space between the heads and bent at opposite sides of thecenter to form intermediateperipheral in shape to the heads or ends, andthe sides 30 diverge from the intermediate periphery to the respectiveheads, as best illustrated in Fig. 4 of the drawings. The intermediateperiphery of the rolling seed-hopper and the inclined sides 30 thereofare formed by a single sheet of metal, which extends entirely across thespace between the heads, and these plates are arranged at an angle toeach other to formv the polygonal hopper and are united at theiradjacent edges, one plate at each corner being provided with an opening,hereinafter described, for dropping seed and the other plate beingimperforate. Access is had to. the interior of the hopper forintroducing seed thereto through an opening 31, formed in oneofthe-inclined sides and normally closed by means of a cover or closure32, which is hinged to the hopper so as to swing toward andaway from theopening 3, with its free end bent or curved, as at 33, to tit over theintermediate periphery, there being a suitable button or pivotal keeper34, mounted upon the hopper and'capable of being turned across the coveror closure to hold the same against accidental'displacement. To drop theseed from the hopper, the intermediate peripheral edge of each side isprovided with the longitudinal opening 35, said opening extending fromand at one side only of the vertex or meetingpoint of the adjacentperipheral edge portions. These openings are arranged in regularorder-that is to say, at corresponding ends of the several peripheraledge portionsand are located so as to lie in rear of the adjacent corneror vertex when at its lowermost limit. By this arrangement the seed isdischarged in a rearward direction and is prevented from being scatteredbroadcast.

For regulating the size of each opening there is provided anendwise-shiftable cut-off slide 36, located in the angle betweenadjacent vary the size of the adjacent opening.

sides and provided with diverged longitudinal flanges 37 to lie againstsaid sides, intermediate portions of the flanges being bent outwardly toform guideways or projections 38, which lie upon the exterior of theadjacent sides of the hopper, so as to guide the slide and to form aconvenient finger-piece for shifting the slide in an endwise directiongo t will of course be understood that the ears 38 are somewhat elastic,so as to snugly embrace the sides of the hopper, and thereby preventaccidental displacement of the slide, while permitting forcibleadjustment thereof.

In rear of the seed-hopper are a pair of covers 39, each of which isprovided at its upper end with a lateral outwardly-inclined shankportion 40, which terminates atits front end in a straight forwardextension-41, which is secured to the under sides of the adjacent beam 1by means of the fastenings 42,

which secure the adjacent, bearing, 24 to the beam.

What I claim is- 1. A planter provided with a rotary'polygforate, andmeans for varying the size of the slots, substantially as described.

2. A planter provided at itsfront-with an approximately V-shapeddraft-yoke extending forward from the frame of the planter and providedat the frontor apex with upwardly-extending portions spaced apart,saiddraft-yoke being also provided with a clevis connecting the terminals ofthe upwardly-extending portions, and a soil-engaging device having ashank or standard secured between the upwardly-extendingportionsof the draftyoke, substantially as described.-

3. In a planter, the combinationota frame,

an approximately V-shaped draft-yoke secured to the frame and providedat its front vor apex with upwardly-extending portions spaced apart, aclevis-hook connecting; theupwardly-extending portions at the top thereof, and a soil-engaging device havinga shank or standard arrangedbetween the upwardlyextending portions of the draft-yoke and secured tothe'said portions at a point below and in rear of the clevis-hook,substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoingas my own'I have hereto affixedmy signature in the presence of two witnesses.

THOMAS M. GRIFFIN;

Witnesses:

P. O. ASHMORE, J. R. HENDERSON.

